I was rather peeved while I was at the new T5 terminal at New York’s JFK last week. I needed to buy some nail polish and couldn't find a single store that sold it. “What was this about?” I wondered. I'd heard such great things about T5 and I'd obviously let my imagination go wild with the possibilities of what I’d find there. The reality was that there were certainly plenty of bars and restaurants (from the count of them they seem to be expecting quite a lot of drinking to be going on or at least for people to plan their socializing and dining time much more around their flying time) and I was totally into the Borders bookstore but overall my reaction was "it’s okay."
When I got on the plane, finally, I continued to sulk over my not being able to buy the nail polish because I really would have liked to have it for this trip. Then I sat up with a jolt (at least mentally I did, I was fairly comfortable in my exit row aisle seat). Since when had I become the type of person who left the chore of purchasing my personal amenities at the airport? What had happened to that good old-fashioned girl who shopped at the CVS or Duane Reade for her cosmetics?
After a moment of reflective thinking, I decided to go easy on myself. The thing is, I decided, I probably wasn't much different from a lot of people. We all want things when we want them and where we want them.
That's why I'm an Amazon.com junkie. The site never questions the inane, or insane nature of my purchases. For example, I regularly purchase cases of sugar-free pudding from Amazon because I can’t stand having to hunt around for it at Pathmark or Stop & Shop on a Saturday afternoon. I've had 10-pound bags of potting soil and a set of five-pound weights shipped to my office because that's where I wanted them and I had no intention of lugging them uptown from the Kmart at Penn Station. Plus, because I’ve signed for the Amazon Prime feature that allows me to get free shipping all year, I enjoy ordering heavy things to ensure I’m getting the better of the deal.
And so I had my conclusion. It's actually Amazon.com's fault that I've become so spoiled about my insistence for immediate gratification, even if I'm at an airport or in some far-flung destination.
And so, even after all this reflection during my flight, I started the search for the nail polish all over again when I landed at Raleigh/Durham airport. And because I’d sent positive vibes along the way, I found it. How satisfying.